Apple tech support takes a dip in new consumer study

A survey by Vocalabs examining computer tech support across several brands shows a ‘substantial slide’ in Apple's consumer satisfaction levels.

The study is based on 4,161 telephone interviews conducted between May 2008 and June 2011, and consumers were questioned about the tech support from Apple, Dell and HP.

Apple, which had been the leader in the study for some time, has recently seen a decline in its level of customer satisfaction.

There was a 19 per cent increase (from 2010 to 2011) in the amount of customers experiencing problems with the automated part of Apple calls, and an 11 per cent drop in ease of reaching an agent. There was a 15 per cent drop in overall call satisfaction.

It seemed that customers were happier talking to a ‘real person’ representative from Apple than either Dell or HP, but were much less satisfied with the automated part of the call. Overall satisfaction has taken a slight hit as a result too.

Vocalabs noted that Apple was still ahead of the other two firms in ‘likelihood to repurchase’ and ‘willingness to recommend’. It commented: “The company’s store of customer goodwill gives it a window of time to fix its service issues before they start to impact the overall brand. This opportunity will not last forever, however, as the small decline in overall satisfaction demonstrates.”